Proverbs 21:27
in Proverbs 21The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable—how much more so when brought with ill intent!
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination; How much more, when he bringeth it with a wicked mind!
KJV
The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination: how much more, when he bringeth it with a wicked mind?
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This verse in Proverbs 21
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Gregory the DialogistThe Book of Pastoral Rule, Part 3, Chapter 21 (Admonition 22) · Written before 604.
For it is one thing to shew mercy on account of our sins; another thing to sin on account of shewing mercy; which can no longer indeed be called mercy, since it cannot grow into sweet fruit, being embittered by the poison of its pestiferous root. For hence it is that the Lord through the prophet rejects even sacrifices themselves, saying, "I the Lord love judgment, and I hate robbery in a whole burnt offering." Hence again He has said, "The sacrifices of the ungodly are abominable, which are offered of wickedness."
This site's exposition
The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable
on Proverbs 21:27-29
"The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable" returns to the ground of verse 3, worship without obedience made worse when brought with ill intent. A lying witness will perish, but the man who listens to truth "will speak forever," true testimony outlasting the false.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
A lower depth even than Pro 15:8. The wicked man may connect his devotion with his guilt, offer his sacrifice and vow his vow (as men have done under paganism or corrupted Christianity) for success in the perpetration of a crime.
When he bringeth it with a wicked mind? - If such a person even bring the sacrifices and offerings which God requires, they are an abomination to him, because the man is wicked; and if such offerings be imperfect in themselves, or of goods ill-gotten, or offered by constraint of custom, etc., they are doubly abominable.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| זֶ֣בַח | zevach | [the] sacrifice of | H2077 → | 162 times |
| רְ֭שָׁעִים | reshaim | wicked [people] | H7563 → | 263 times |
| תּוֹעֵבָ֑ה | toevah | [is] an abomination | H8441 → | 117 times |
| אַ֝֗ף | ʾaf | indeed? | H637 → | 134 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| בְזִמָּ֥ה | vezimah | in wickedness | H2154 → | 29 times |
| יְבִיאֶֽנּוּ׃ | yevienu | he brings it | H935 → | 2568 times |
זֶ֣בַח[the] sacrifice of
zevachH2077 →162 times
רְ֭שָׁעִיםwicked [people]
reshaimH7563 →263 times
תּוֹעֵבָ֑ה[is] an abomination
toevahH8441 →117 times
אַ֝֗ףindeed?
ʾafH637 →134 times
כִּֽי־if
ki-H3588 →4482 times
בְזִמָּ֥הin wickedness
vezimahH2154 →29 times
יְבִיאֶֽנּוּ׃he brings it
yevienuH935 →2568 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 15:8The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.
it leads to
- Proverbs 15:29
The LORD is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous.
- 1 Chronicles 29:17
I know, my God, that You test the heart and delight in uprightness. All these things I have given willingly and with an upright heart, and now I have seen Your people who are…
- Isaiah 1:10–15
Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah!
- Jeremiah 6:20
What use to Me is frankincense from Sheba or sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable; your sacrifices do not please Me.”
- Proverbs 28:9
Whoever turns his ear away from hearing the law, even his prayer is detestable.
- Proverbs 15:29
Through
Matthew 23:13Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.
it leads to
- Luke 11:52
Woe to you experts in the law! For you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”
- Matthew 23:29
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous.
- Luke 11:52
Through
Isaiah 66:3Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who slays a man; whoever sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever presents a grain offering is like one who offers pig’s…
it leads to
- Amos 5:21–22
“I hate, I despise your feasts! I cannot stand the stench of your solemn assemblies.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Amos 5:21–22
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory the Dialogist, The Book of Pastoral Rule, Part 3, Chapter 21 (Admonition 22); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.